MONMOUTH, Illinois – Offense was hard to come by for the Prairie Fire in a 33-2 loss to rival Monmouth College in the 126th Bronze Turkey game.

After a scoreless first quarter, Monmouth concluded a nine play, 83 yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown pass for a 6-0 lead five seconds into the second quarter.  Knox sophomore Brock Gabel (Bourbonnais, IL, Bishop McNamara) blocked the kick for the extra point, which senior Armand Stricklin (Lee's Summit, MO, Lee's Summit West) picked up and ran 98 yards the other way to trim the deficit to 6-2.

Unfortunately for the Prairie Fire, the offensive unit couldn't add any points against the stingy Fighting Scots defense.

Monmouth (7-2, 4-1 MWC South) followed with a 7-yard touchdown run with 6:18 left in the second quarter to go up 13-2.

The Prairie Fire, after five straight punts, put together a 15 play, 65 yard drive on their final possession of the first half.  Facing fourth down and 2 at the Monmouth four yard line with three seconds remaining, first-year quarterback Matt Mc Caffrey (Wilmette, IL, New Trier) took off with the football but was stopped one yard short of the goal line as the second quarter expired.

The Fighting Scots added a 25-yard field goal for the only points of the third quarter and stretched their advantage to 15-2 going into the final stanza.  Monmouth scored a pair of touchdowns and kicked another field goal in the fourth quarter to account for the final score.

Knox (2-7, 0-5 MWC South) was unable to drive past the Monmouth 48 yard line in the second half. 

The Scots held the Prairie Fire to 178 yards of offense, their second-lowest output of the season.  The hosts gained 399 total yards, including 282 running the ball.

Mc Caffrey completed 19-of-31 passes for 113 yards and he threw one interception.  Junior Mathew Hemmingsen (Galesburg, IL, Carl Sandburg College) led the receiving corps with six catches and 51 yards.  First-year running back Terry White (Hillsdale, IL, Riverdale) was held to 23 yards rushing on nine carries while Mc Caffrey also gained 23 yards on the ground.

Senior safety Will Ruzicka (St. Louis, MO, St. Mary's) and Gabel, a linebacker, had nine tackles each to lead the defense.  Ruzicka also broke up two passes from his position in the secondary.  First-year defensive back Donnye Sommerville (Clayton, MO, Clayton) picked off a pass for the Prairie Fire and added a season-high six tackles.

Monmouth leads the all-time series with Knox 66-50-10 with the victory.

Knox will host Beloit College next Saturday, November 15, as part of Midwest Conference Championship Weekend.  The Buccaneers (2-7, 0-5 MWC North), who lost 49-14 at Carroll University on Saturday, and the Prairie Fire both finished sixth in their respective divisions.

The kickoff from Stisser Field at the Knosher Bowl is at 1:00 p.m.